The present invention relates to a spare tire mount and more particularly relates to an easily removable, secure structure for mounting a spare tire in the bed of a pickup.
The spare tire on most pickup trucks are carried on a support which is located underneath the rear portion of the load bed of the truck. As anyone knows who has had to change a tire on such trucks, this positioning of the spare tire is less than desirable. For example, it is almost impossible to remove the spare without sitting, kneeling or otherwise coming in contact with the ground. In addition to the other discomforts involved, this procedure almost always leads to the soiling of the operator's clothing, especially when the ground is muddy, as is often the case.
Further, the spare tire and its mount are continuously exposed to rain, snow, slush, mud, etc., which splash upward from the ground to accumulate on the tire and its mount thereby further complicating the removal of the spare when needed.
To overcome these apparent undesirable features, several substitute mounting structures have been designed for such pickup trucks wherein the spare tire is mounted in a readily accessible position either outside or inside the load bed of the pickup. Known structures which mount the spare tire outside of the bed are relatively expensive to install and must be permanently attached to the pickup truck by welding, bolts, screws, or the like.
Likewise, most known structures which mount the spare tire inside the pickup bed (e.g. see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,013,203 and 4,089,449), are also designed to be bolted or welded to the wall structure of the pickup bed. By so attaching these structures, several disadvantages arise. For example, if welding is used, the mount is permanently in place and cannot be removed practically if a situation arises where the entire capacity of the pickup bed is needed to haul a particular cargo.
On the other hand, if bolts are used to attach the mount, holes must be drilled into the pickup bed which become susceptible to rust or the like when explosed to the elements. Still further, when an owner sells or trades his truck and wishes to transfer his spare tire mount, the remaining holes or previously welded areas may seriously detract from the resale value of the truck.
Therefore, a need exists for a spare tire mount which can easily be installed and quickly removed from the bed of a pickup truck and one which requires no welding or the drilling of holes in the bed of the truck. One such mount is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,863. While this mount meets the above described criteria for quick removal, it is believed that this mount nevertheless has some serious drawbacks from a security aspect. That is, even though the spare tire is adequately locked onto the disclosed mounting structure, the threaded feet which secure the mount in place in the pickup bed are readily accessible to a thief and can easily be unthreaded to permit removal of both the spare tire and the mount as an integral unit.
Also, since both the diameter and width of the spare tire, from time to time or from truck to truck, may vary due to the many sizes of tires now available, it is further desirable for the mount to be capable of easily being adjustable to compensate for these different tires in order that a single, commercially supplied mount may be used on a wide variety of pickup models.